Italy’s Federica Brignone won the World Cup opener in Sölden on Saturday when Mikaela Shiffrin flopped during her second run in the giant slalom.
It was a 28th World Cup victory for the 34-year-old Brignone, and her 13th in the giant slalom.
Shiffrin was fastest on the first descent starting at 3,040 metres, but the American failed to attack on the second run, allowing Brignone to take its first win of the 2024-2025 season, ahead of New Zealand’s Alice Robinson and Julia Scheib from Austria.
The 34-year-old Brignone replaced Austria’s Elisabeth Görgl as the oldest woman to win an Alpine Skiing World Cup competition.
With the festive weekend crowd at the Austrian resort, Shiffrin was the star attraction, and as the winner of the first run, he was last out of the starting gate.
But in stark contrast to the first run, she was careful in the 49 turns on the hard snow and was only 27th in the second run.
Shiffrin sat out the end of the 2023/24 season after damaging ligaments in a January crash on the Cortina d’Ampezzo downhill.
“I’m just happy to be here,” said the modest 29-year-old, who was looking for a record-extending 98th World Cup victory.
Shiffrin finished fifth overall, between compatriots Katie Hensien (fourth) and Nina O’Brien (seventh). That gave the US three women in the top seven of a World Cup giant slalom for the first time since 1992.
Lara Gut-Behrami, last year’s overall World Cup champion, withdrew before the start, saying she did not feel “ready” to ski.